Highland Park to rebid red light camera contract

June 25, 2013|By John P. Huston, Chicago Tribune reporter

Highland Park has one intersection with red-light cameras to enforce traffic violations — at the westbound and southbound approaches of Park Avenue West and U.S. Route 41. (John P. Huston, Chicago Tribune)

A recent bribery controversy between Chicago and its red-light traffic enforcement vendor has not soured the relationship between the company and Highland Park.

For the past three years, Highland Park has contracted with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. — the same company whose recent scandal in Chicago resulted in it being barred from consideration for a lucrative contract extension. Highland Park's contract with the firm is coming to an end, and officials are preparing to seek new bids — and they welcome a bid from Redflex.

"We don't have an issue" with Redflex, said Deputy Police Chief George Pfutzenreuter. "All we're doing is we're putting out a similar bid for the same kind of service to make sure that Redflex is the best price and the most responsible vendor."

Federal and local investigators are examining allegations that Redflex won its Chicago contract in a $2 million bribery scheme, prompting the company to face scrutiny across the country from other potential clients following disclosures prompted by a Tribune investigation.

Earlier this year the company announced plans to put all of its employees through anti-bribery and anti-corruption training, hire a new director of compliance to ensure employees adhere to company policies, and the establishment of a 24-hour whistle-blower hotline.

"We intend to be a constructive force in our industry, promoting high ethical standards and serving the public interest," Robert DeVincenzi, president and CEO of Redflex Holdings Ltd., said in a statement to the Tribune at the time.

The Highland Park City Council voted unanimously on Monday, as part of their omnibus agenda, to allow its contract with Redflex, which was set to expire July 14, to go month-to-month while the Police Department initiates a bidding process. The plan is "in the interest of securing the most responsible vendor to provide future automated red light photo enforcement services in Highland Park," according to a city memo.

The agreement includes continuing to pay the current amount of $9,842 per month until a new long-term contract is signed.

Highland Park officials said the negative headlines are not behind the move.

"We're looking for the best deal," said Mayor Nancy Rotering. "We have not had problems with corruption and Redflex in Highland Park. It really is about doing the best job in terms of protecting people" on the roadway.

Only one intersection in the North Shore suburb has red-light cameras. In June 2010, they were installed to nab westbound and southbound motorists who run the red light, or turn right against a red light, at the intersection of Park Avenue West and U.S. Route 41.

While not continuously operational — records show that construction, weather, or equipment failures have forced the cameras off-line for various periods of the contract — Highland Park has generated more than $1.3 million from traffic ticket revenue.

Safety, not money, is behind the enforcement effort, Rotering said.

"In all honesty, we're not using it as a revenue source," she said. "We're using it as an opportunity to diminish traffic accidents at what was a very dangerous corner."

But statistics show that the cameras have had minimal effects — if any — on safety at the busy intersection.

In 2012, there were 64 accidents, 10 of which resulted in an injury at the intersection, according to police statistics. The year before, there were 46 accidents and six injuries there.

In 2009, the last full year before the cameras were installed, there were 62 accidents and six injuries at Park Avenue West and Route 41, police statistics show.

According to a report by Highland Park Police Traffic Sgt. Chris O'Neill, "red light camera photo enforcement has proven to be an effective method of supplementing traditional traffic enforcement methods."

The report says that crash totals at the intersection "have remained fairly consistent over the years. Route 41 continues to experience a very high volume of vehicle and truck traffic each year which contributes to crash potential and traffic volume."

It also says that while cameras and associated signage can't decrease volume, speed or proximity of vehicles, "they can have the ability to reduce traffic crashes and improve compliance with traffic control devices."

For Highwood resident Terry Brauer, the program is about one thing: Money.

"The bottom line is that this to me is nothing more than a cash cow," Brauer said. He was ticketed in February with making a right turn on a red light onto northbound Route 41. He tried to appeal the citation, arguing traffic signs were obscured or damaged, but was rejected by a Highland Park administrative hearing officer.